Government should help keep threatened coal mines open, says TUC

Commenting on the government’s reaction to the announcement by UK Coal that it is planning to close two of Britain’s three remaining deep pit coal mines, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“There is nothing stopping the government from applying to Europe for permission to use state aid to save Kellingley and Thoresby – and the thousands of jobs in North Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire which depend on these mines staying open.

“The government says that any plans to delay the pit closures must ‘show good value for money’ but it will cost more to shut both mines than it will do to keep them open. Just £60m would secure the future of several thousand jobs, the communities surrounding the mines and the British coal industry.

“If ministers do nothing and allow the mines to close, the UK will become even more reliant on foreign, mostly Russian, coal imports, and that means a worryingly insecure future for the UK’s energy supply. Shutting the pits will also jeopardise any chance the UK has of becoming a significant player in the emerging, multi-billion pound market for carbon capture and storage technology.”

Yesterday the TUC and the coal unions went to Brussels to seek clarification regarding claims made by the Department for Energy and Climate Change that it is not possible for taxpayers’ money to be used for a UK Coal survival plan. The European Commission told the unions that there were no barriers to the UK government applying to use state aid to save the mines.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

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Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen   T: 020 7467 1248    M: 07778 158175    E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth    T: 020 7467 1372    M: 07717 531150     E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk